Chapter 213: Huang Yin, the Man who Has Defeated the Butterfly

“You mean the stench and the bird bodies were the doing of the tenants?” Be it Bai Xian or Director Zhang, they were experienced in this industry and had come across many different kinds of people. A movie shoot being interrupted by the locals was not that uncommon. Therefore, the explanation given by Director Zhang was saddening but acceptable. Of everyone present, only Han Fei had a dark expression. He seemed to be still stuck in his character The scene that they just rehearsed was a plot lifted right out from the House of the Butcher, it recorded the very last time where the 9 different personas had gathered together at the same spot. This was the final dinner because soon after this dinner, the student who represented the future, happiness and anticipation would be found murdered and sent the whole building into chaos. The House of the Butcher was a play on words. In this house, everyone was a butcher, and everyone was on the chopping block.

‘The Butterfly should be familiar with this scene as well, I wonder when they will make their move.’

“Han Fei, stop standing there. I’ve prepared waiting rooms for all the actors on the 3rd floor. What do you prefer, coffee or fruit juice?” After the staircase was cleaned, Director Zhang summoned all the actors to the 3rd floor. Through a monitor, their performance earlier could be seen clearly. Director Zhang communicated with each actor, pointing out their weaknesses and strengths. For young actors, it was a valuable experience to work with Director Zhang. Eventually, Director Zhang turned to Han Fei. To be honest, he was very satisfied with Han Fei’s performance. He could not find anyone more suitable for this role than Han Fei.

“Director Zhang, is there anything I can improve on?”

“When you played the character, you stunned even Spider’s former psychiatrist. He said he could see the shadow of Spider on you, he even suspected that you might share the same illness as the Spider.” Director Zhang said with a smile. Even though his wording was less than optimum, that was meant as a praise.

“Speaking of which, can you introduce me to Spider’s psychiatrist? Perhaps I can portray this character more accurately after having a chat with him.” That was the excuse Han Fei used. His real goal though was to get to know the real Spider in preparation for his gaming sessions.

“It is really unrealistic that someone as hardworking and as talented as you haven’t caught his big break yet.” Director Zhang told Han Fei that the psychiatrist was resting in the room next door as he turned to Bai Xian and Xiao Tong. Bai Xian’s acting was flawless, he managed to evoke the internal manifestation of the character’s emotions perfectly but Director Zhang felt that as the main male character, his tempo was being led too far away by Han Fei, who was the side character. Xiao Tong though had a bigger problem. He was a good actor, but when compared to 8 other actors more experienced than he was, the lack in his skill showed conspicuously. Han Fei did not stay to listen to the lecture. He entered the designated room, and when he saw the psychiatrist, his eyes narrowed.

“Doctor Hu Wei?” Han Fei had met this male psychiatrist before. He was the doctor who was responsible for Ming Mei’s family’s mental evaluation.

“Han Fei, we meet again.” Hu Wei extended his hand to Han Fei passionately. “Do you mind giving me your autograph?” Han Fei accepted the pen and paper handed to him by the doctor but he did not sign them. Instead he asked, “Director Zhang said that you were Spider’s former doctor.”

“Not really, I was merely his pharmacist. Spider’s real psychiatrist was my mentor, at the time, I was interning with my mentor but because Spider was such a unique patient, I have a deep impression of him.”

“And your mentor is…”

“Oh, he died in an accident not too long after Spider’s death. He spent the last months of his life locked up in his home, I heard that he suffered from some psychological illnesses near the end of his life. Sigh, it’s a tragedy really. The hardest patient for a psychiatrist to treat is most often themselves, especially for someone like my mentor, who threw himself fully into his patients and work.”

Han Fei was surprised to meet Hu Wei here. The psychiatrist was perfectly under Han Fei’s radar but his sudden appearance here had raised Han Fei’s alarm. The questions that Han Fei originally had, he kept to himself, instead he talked about random and harmless topics with Hu Wei. The psychiatrist was perfectly at ease. If Hu Wei was acting, then his acting skill could rival the award-winning actors next door. Taking a gander at the time, Han Fei did not stay for long because he still needed to enter the game at night. After notifying Director Zhang, he left.

“Han Fei, are you getting back on your own? Do you want me to give you a lift?” Bai Xian drove his car over. “This place is quite secluded from any residential area.”

“Thank you but my ride is already here.” A black cruiser rolled in from the street. The officers inside it were armed with guns and bulletproof vests. That had Bai Xian drop his jaw to the floor.

“See you tomorrow, Brother Bai.” After Han Fei got into the cruiser and as the car drove away, Han Fei started to report everything he had heard and seen inside the building to the officers. With his photographic memory, he memorized everyone’s appearance and personality. He told the police about the freak incidents that had happened at the living compound that day. He did not hide anything. The police were Han Fei’s support. He needed the law enforcement on his side to take down the Butterfly.

Han Fei reached his own home at around 10.30 pm. Lying in bed, his mind was still focused on the scene between the 9 actors. It was nigh impossible to fracture out 9 different personas in a normal person’s mind. Just as Han Fei was at a loss on how to understand the Spider better and put himself in the mind of a schizophrenic patient, Director Zhang found 8 professional actors to help reconstruct Spider’s past. Even though they were just re-enacting the scene, it had helped Han Fei tremendously. Initially he could not even imagine how it would be to have 9 different personas stuck in one mind but with the other actors’ help, he slowly got into the groove. Schizophrenic personas were like shadows that the patient could not shake, they would be with you forever. They weaved and bound closer and closer until the patient suffocated under their collective weight.

After a quick shower, Han Fei was about to rest with a book when he received a call from Huang Yin. With the police’s help, Huang Yin had returned to a normal life, at least that was the case on the surface. After thanking Han Fei again, Huang Yin got to the purpose of his call, he hoped that Han Fei could bring him into the cryptic world again that night. Hearing that voluntary request from Huang Yin suggested that he had truly walked out from that trauma. Han Fei was happy for his friend. He was afraid that Huang Yin’s visits to the cryptic world would leave a permanent mental scar on him, Han Fei did not wish for his only friend to turn mad.

At midnight, Han Fei connected all the wires and put on the gaming helmet. Blood curtained and Han Fei’s consciousness got sucked into the cryptic world. Opening his eyes, staring at the absolutely realistic world, Han Fei sometimes wondered if the cryptic world existed somewhere in the real world, not a virtual reality but a space occupying the same dimension as reality.

The cold wind touched his cheeks. Han Fei realized he was still at Yi Ming Private Academy. He hurried towards the field. ‘According to Jin Sheng, someone at the Ziggurat has left a curse on me. I have 7 days to 1 month to live. There’s no time to waste.’ Han Fei planned to leave Yi Ming Private Academy and head to Cattle Alley that night. However, before he departed for the dangerous zone, he needed to complete his promise with Huang Yin. Opening the menu, Han Fei whispered the term Spirit Farer. The dark winds gathered. Blood crawled all over the menu and it split to the sides.

Ghostly visages floated among the sea of blood. Han Fei grabbed an empty one and wrote down Huang Yin’s name. According to the system, there was a chance for Spirit Farer to fail or to summon something else, but for some inexplicable reason, Han Fei would always be successful when he wanted to summon Huang Yin. Han Fei did not understand it, he chalked it up to Huang Yin’s hidden talent.

Blood flashed and a human figure appeared less than 10 meters away from Han Fei. He dropped clumsily to the ground and instantly curled his body together. Only his eyes were left peeking around. Han Fei thought Huang Yin had already gotten used to the cryptic world but when he saw his friend in person, he realized they still had a long way to go.

“This is just a school, there is nothing to be afraid of here.” Han Fei sighed and shook his head. Han Fei used to think that these supernatural experiences were just difficult, but not that scary. However, after witnessing Huang Yin’s various reactions, Han Fei realized that he was perhaps slightly different from others. At least his psychological constitution was more unshakeable than most.

Hearing Han Fei’s voice, Huang Yin jumped up from the ground and rocketed to Han Fei’s side. “That, that guard is not with you, right?”

“You mean Ol’ Lee?” Han Fei did not expect that the person Huang Yin was most afraid of would be the honest and kind Ol’ Lee. “I think there’s some misunderstandings. After you get to know him, you’ll see that Ol’ Lee is a good person.”

“No thanks, not with the mountain of ghosts on him!” Huang Yin pulled on Han Fei’s sleeve. “Let’s find a more secluded spot first. I’ve brought many things with me!”

The commotion caused by Spirit Farer had already attracted the attention of many ghosts at the school. Zhang Guanxing and Xu Qin’s pet were the first to run over. Huang Yin was fine when he saw Zhang Guanxing but his legs almost buckled when he saw Xu Qin’s pet. “What kind of anaconda is that?!”

The giant snake slithered over and made to climb up Han Fei’s body. This further shocked Huang Yin’s system.

“Don’t mind it, it’s perfectly harmless. What did you bring?” Han Fei led Huang Yin and Zhang Guanxing into an empty classroom.

“Yes, I’ve thought long and hard about this.” Huang Yin opened his inventory. “The 6th CB for Perfect Life will end in a few more days, then all the beta testers’ accounts will reset. All the progress we made will be lost but the photon computer does not appear to have its influence extended to the cryptic world. If it did, the cryptic world would be wiped out of existence by now. Therefore, I believe that if I bring over the stuff from the surface world and store them at this place, it means that we can safely preserve them through the version update,”

Huang Yin signalled for Han Fei to come closer and then pulled out the stuff from his inventory. “Considering the situation of this world, I’ve expanded my inventory size to the maximum and stocked up on these things for you. Come and take a gander at these. I have holy water, talismans, buddha statues. Do you think they’ll work? I even managed to purchase powerful artifacts like this scroll of holiness mantra, actual copy of Dao De Jing and so on from the black market.”